July 27, 2007

PASADENA IS GETTING A BIG BELLY!

Four Big Belly units – 540-pound industrial trash containers with solar-powered compactors – have been delivered to Pasadena and being put in place today.
Each completely enclosed, mailbox-shaped Big Belly is more than four feet tall, has a battery reserve of two to three weeks without sunlight and a waste capacity of 45 gallons. A sensor sends a signal whenever compaction needs to take place.

Compaction in the units reduces the need for multiple trash collections every week, decreases the amount of diesel fuel consumed by trash trucks that service the units and, in turn, reduces emissions.

The Street Maintenance and Integrated Waste Management Division of the Pasadena Public Works Department is renting the four Big Belly units for six months. They are being placed in public rights of way where there is high pedestrian traffic and large concentrations of trash: southeast corner of Colorado Boulevard and Hill Avenue, southwest corner of Lake Avenue and Washington Boulevard, northeast corner of California Boulevard and Lake Avenue, and northeast corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Orange Grove Blvd.

The six-month pilot project was suggested by Leadership Pasadena’s class of 2007 environmental team. As part of a required community service project, the team approached Public Works Director Martin Pastucha, who gave a green light to the project after discussions with department staff.

In addition to the department’s commitment to the pilot program, funds have been donated by Caltech, Evolution Robotics Retail, Dick Davis, The Howe Company, Barney’s Ltd. and Smart & Final.

Leadership Pasadena’s class of 2007 environmental team includes Heidi Bloks of Caltech’s Office of Government and Community Relations; Shannon Ewing, broker associate with Prudential California Realty; William Ellinger, historic preservation architect; Jacqueline Ellis, associate planner with the city of Pasadena; Brenda Josephson, community volunteer; and Natasha Kahn, principal librarian with the city
of Pasadena.

For more information about the Big Belly pilot project, call (626) 744-4087.